Danmachi: The Multiverse Portal

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Back at the Hestia Familia's residence, a group of girls no older than twelve or thirteen knelt together on the floor.

They were still wearing the revealing outfits picked out for them in the Entertainment District, clothes meant to attract customers rather than protect the children who wore them.

"Go wash your faces," Daphne said. Her voice was firm, but not unkind. "You still carry the Ishtar Familia's Falna, but under the agreement, you'll be working under the Hestia Familia's protection. While you're here, you follow our rules."

Cassandra pushed several basins of clean water forward, along with neatly folded towels.

"Yes, ma'am."

The girls answered without lifting their heads. Their eyes were dull from all they had been through: taken from their homes, passed from group to group, and finally sold in Orario. Some had never officially joined the Ishtar Familia, while a few still belonged to other Familias on paper.

'This won't be easy...'

Daphne could tell they didn't trust Gods or Familias anymore, and she couldn't blame them. The Lower World had no shortage of Gods who treated mortals like toys, and Ishtar was only one of the worst examples.

She felt sorry for them, but pity alone wouldn't help them survive. They needed clear rules, work, and enough time to understand that no one here planned to sell them again.

Daphne cleared her throat and opened the list in her hands.

"First, you were hired to help clean and maintain this residence. The Hestia Familia also has an older base elsewhere in the city—the church we used before moving here. That will be part of your work as well."

The girls nodded. Cleaning a house seemed almost too normal after what they had expected in the Entertainment District, but none of them complained.

"As for your Falna and who you answer to—"

Daphne glanced at the two unusual guests nearby, but Space Ishtar stepped forward before she could finish. "Until you officially transfer Familias, you remain members of the Ishtar Familia. Which means the Goddess you worship will be me."

She placed a hand against her chest.

"Space Ishtar—the Goddess of Venus!"

"Ah...?"

The girls looked at each other, unsure how to respond. They had just escaped from Ishtar. Would following another Ishtar make them traitors to their original Goddess?

"What are those faces for?" Space Ishtar asked. "Am I not Ishtar?"

No one could argue with that.

"You'll meet my real body eventually. When that happens, your faith will still have a proper Goddess to follow." She waved her hand, acting as if the matter was already settled. "You're not abandoning Ishtar. You're just moving to a better version."

That explanation was shameless, but strangely convincing.

"Yes, Lady Space Ishtar."

The girls bowed their heads. The woman standing before them carried the same Divine Origin as their former Goddess—and unlike the local Ishtar, she had fought to free them.

That was enough.

Space Ishtar looked pleased once everyone accepted the arrangement.

"Now, your Captain will speak!"

She grabbed August by the arm and pulled him into the center of the room before he could object. Hestia was the Patron Goddess of the Familia, but when she wasn't present, August was the highest authority in the residence.

"..." When the girls saw him, their frightened expressions began to ease.

"Lord August..."

Haruhime Sanjouno stood with the older girls, just a little older than the youngest children. Tears welled up in her green eyes as she looked at the man she had heard so much about.

She had always loved reading stories about heroes.

Now, one stood right in front of her.

The other girls felt the same. Their eyes lit up, and a few almost rushed over before Daphne silenced them with a look.

August hadn't expected such a warm welcome.

"Hello."

He kept his expression gentle. The rules were already explained, and their duties set. Now, he just needed to help them understand what life here would be like.

"Let me introduce myself properly. My name is August."

He glanced around the room.

"Everything about your rooms and work is already taken care of, so there's no need to worry. Your future is yours to choose—the Hestia Familia won't decide it for you."

"As long as you work honestly and learn to take care of yourselves, you'll find your own place in time. No one here expects you to stay servants forever."

Some girls came because they admired August, but others chose the Hestia Familia simply to escape the Ishtar Familia's compound. That was all they wanted.

August understood that.

"Do your work and follow the rules, and no one will treat you badly. If you ever want to leave, just let us know. We won't force anyone to stay."

"YES, LORD AUGUST!!"

This time, their reply was full of real energy.

They had heard so much about August that they knew he was telling the truth. His reputation for protecting his people was well known in Orario, and the fact that they were here instead of back in the Entertainment District proved it.

August waited for everyone to calm down before mentioning the last thing.

"There's one more thing you should know. The Hestia Familia also protects a group called the Xenos. Sometimes, they might visit or stay here."

He watched their faces closely.

"They are intelligent monsters born in the Dungeon. If anyone feels afraid or doesn't want to work near them, please say so now."

"I KNOW ABOUT THEM!" Haruhime raised her hand eagerly, then began explaining with all the excitement of someone telling her favorite hero's story.

"After Lord August clashed with the Daedalus family, he led a group of monsters out of the Dungeon. They could speak, think, and feel just like us. The gods call them Xenos."

"Even when all of Orario turned against him, Lord August stood his ground. He fought so the Xenos could leave the darkness and live beneath the open sky."

Haruhime pressed her hands to her warm cheeks.

"Lord August was willing to protect them even when the whole city treated them as enemies. I never thought he would do the same for people like us..."

In Haruhime's mind, their situations had already become the same.

The Xenos had been hunted because they were monsters.

These girls had been bought and discarded because no one believed their lives mattered.

August had stood up for both groups and wouldn't back down.

"Lord August is incredible..." Haruhime murmured, her imagination already running wild. A lone hero defying the entire world to save the innocent sounded like something straight out of her favorite stories.

Her excitement spread to everyone in the room.

A hero...

A battle against the whole world...

Girls rescued from a cruel fate.

For the first time, some of them could see themselves as more than just victims. In Haruhime's version of events—they were the heroines of a grand story, and August was the one who had come to save them.

"Hahahahaha..." August laughed awkwardly.

Haruhime's imagination had gone much further than August meant.

"You're giving me too much credit. I'm not nearly as selfless as you think." He had his own reasons for going to the Entertainment District. August needed people to work for him, and thanks to Ishtar, he could bring them in without paying a recruitment fee.

The girls didn't care.

"No, Lord August. This is who you are."

"You brought us here without caring about what we were called."

"You didn't ask where we came from or whether we were worth saving."

One girl gathered enough courage to look him in the eye.

"If you were a God, we would already be worshipping you."

Another girl shook her head.

"You don't need to be a God. What you did for us is enough."

To everyone else in Orario, August had invaded another Familia's territory, taken its people, and left with half its treasury.

But to the girls in his home, he had given them a chance at a life they thought was gone forever.

That was not robbery.

That was salvation!!

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